Ask The Rabbi
5 September 1998
Issue #205
Parshas Ki Seitzei
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This publication is available in HTML format at
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Researched at Ohr Somayach, Jerusalem
This Issue Contains:
1. A Question of Conversion 3. Yiddle Riddle
2. Public Domain
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A Question of Conversion
"ASK THE RABBI" receives many questions regarding conversion to Judaism.
The following are some sample questions we have received:
Jim from Roberts, Washington <613@usa.net> wrote:
Dear Rabbi,
If a Gentile feels compelled to Torah observance, is this inappropriate
because he is not Jewish and without the leadership (or at least advice) of
a local rabbi? Should this person be encouraged only to follow the Noachide
laws, or to consider conversion?
Rick email@withheld wrote:
Dear Rabbi,
My name is Rick, and I'm 16 (very soon to be 17) years old. I have studied
Judaism through books, the help of my Jewish neighbors and I manage to
attend shul every so often. Soon, I'll be entering the Air Force. I have
wanted to convert for three years, and want to get converted before I enter
the service. I want my belief and religion to be official. I don't want to
die (G-d forbid) in combat without having my spiritual belief official.
What should I do, and how should I go about it? Shalom.
Christoph M. Kubiak wrote:
Dear Rabbi,
Shalom Rebbe. What are the writings in the Torah or Midrashim concerning
the treatment of converts from a rabbinical perspective and from the
community's perspective? I know a guy who wants to convert, and I am
curious what ceremonies or rules that apply to his conversion. Will he be a
True Jew and will his children? I don't know this kind of stuff so I want
to help him find out. He has studied Torah for many years so he is sure
that Hashem guides him this way for a good reason.
Mark Zuckerbraun wrote:
Dear Rabbi,
I know that Orthodox conversions typically require about two years' time to
be complete. I had heard that there were some Orthodox rabbis who have
converted people in less than this time, sometimes in only ten days!
Therefore, my question is, if such a conversion would normally be
considered invalid, but three truly Orthodox rabbis ruled the conversion to
be valid and signed the certificates, would that in and of itself be enough
to allow the conversion to be considered valid by Am Yisrael?
John Ross, Kadena Air Base, U.S. wrote:
Dear Rabbi,
I'm interested in becoming a ger (convert to Judaism). However, I'm in the
US Air Force and so can't have a beard. Plus, my fiancee and I honestly do
not know if we could be faithful to all the requirements. Are both of those
requirements necessary before any Beit Din would recognize me as Torah
observant (and thus eligible to become a ger)?
Nicole Blake from Woodbridge, Ontario wrote:
Dear Rabbi,
I am a 17 yr. old African-American Christian girl. I recently started to
read the Bible, and I've had deep thoughts of converting to the Jewish
religion. Although I have a lot of friends that are Jewish, I've never
shared my thoughts of converting with them, because I'm afraid that I won't
be accepted by the Jewish community because I'm black. Can you please help
me to make the right decision of converting, by telling me how I too can be
a faithful believer in Judaism?
Name@Withheld from Florida wrote:
Dear Rabbi,
I'm having a problem with my daughter-in-law who converted to Judaism and
has a son, and now can't accept the fact she can't celebrate Xmas. What do
you do?
Name@Withheld from UK wrote:
Dear Rabbi,
I am an English girl who would like to convert to Orthodox Judaism (I have
already converted to Reform Judaism). I would be grateful if you could tell
me the best way of going about this, and which authorities are halachically
acceptable.
************
IMPORTANT NOTE: Each of the above individuals has already received a
personal reply from "ASK-THE-RABBI." Each reply is different and attempts
to address each person's specific situation. What follows is a general
essay on conversion which answers some of the above questions. The
following essay was not sent to the above individuals.
Before the giving of the Torah there was no strict legal definition of a
Jew, because the law had not yet been given. This means that the people who
came to Mt. Sinai were not Jews (in a legal sense) yet. In fact, the
Revelation at Mt. Sinai can be viewed as a mass conversion to Judaism of
millions of descendants of Abraham. In this sense, every Jew is descended
from a convert; some go back to Sinai, and some later in history. The idea
of conversion after Mt. Sinai is mentioned in the Torah itself and we are
exhorted more than thirty times (!) not to oppress a convert. For instance,
"And when a convert lives amongst you in your land do not oppress him. The
convert shall be like one of your citizens and you shall love him as
yourself, for you were strangers in the Land of Egypt..." (Leviticus 19:33-
34)
We derive our obligation to welcome a convert from one of the most famous
converts in history, Yitro, the father-in-law of Moses. As the Midrash
states: "I am the One who drew Yitro near and did not reject him. You also,
when a person comes to convert and does this for the sake of Heaven, draw
him near and do not reject him."
What does the conversion process involve? It requires that the non-Jew go
through a re-enactment of the revelation at Mt. Sinai. As Maimonides
writes: "The Israelites entered into the covenant with three things;
circumcision, immersion, and sacrifices. Circumcision was performed in
Egypt, as it is written `and all uncircumcised (males) shall not eat of it
(the paschal lamb).' Immersion (purification) was performed in the desert
before the giving of the Torah, as it is written `and you shall sanctify
yourselves today and tomorrow.' And at this time sacrifices were also
brought...So too for all generations, a gentile who wishes to enter into
the covenant, to find shelter under the wings of the Shechina (Divine
Presence) and to accept upon himself the yoke of Torah, requires
circumcision, immersion and acceptance of a sacrifice (at the time of the
Temple)."
There are three basic components to the contemporary conversion process:
Circumcision (for males), immersion in a mikveh and as Maimonides mentions,
the acceptance of the "yoke of Torah." This is just like the Jews at Sinai
who unconditionally accepted all the commandment when they said "We will do
and we will listen." All the above must be done in the presence of a Beit
Din (Jewish court) because they are the representatives of Moses, the
lawgiver.
If any one of the above three things is omitted, the conversion is invalid.
A convert to Judaism must be prepared to accept all the commandments of the
Torah without exception. If there is no acceptance of the commandments,
even if three Orthodox Rabbis rule that the person is Jewish, he is not
Jewish. Without acceptance of the Torah's commandments, the conversion
would just be a sham.
Once a person sincerely converts to Judaism, they are 100% Jewish, and we
are obligated to love, welcome and accept them into our people. When they
recite the prayers, they refer to the Patriarchs and Matriarchs as "our
fathers" and "our mothers." At the Passover Seder they say "G-d took our
fathers out of Egypt." They are full-fledged members of the Community of
Israel.
In general, we do not encourage someone to convert. There are two reasons
for this:
First of all, we believe that when a gentile keeps the seven Noachide laws,
he merits a portion in the World-to- Come, and therefore there is no
imperative for him to become Jewish. If, like the Christians and Moslems,
we believed that those of other religions are condemned to damnation, then
we also would desire to convert people. However, we believe that a person
can be completely righteous and merit the World-to-Come without conversion,
by adhering to the basic moral laws revealed to Noach. Therefore we feel no
compulsion to convert others, unless they show a desire to convert.
Secondly, since sincerity is one of the criteria for conversion, one way in
which we can determine that the candidate is sincere is by discouraging him
from converting. If he persists and does so for the love of Judaism, then
we accept him with open arms.
It's interesting to note that some of our most famous scholars were
converts, or descendants of converts. Rabbi Akiva was the son of Yosef the
ger tzedek, the righteous convert. The Talmud states that some of the
greatest rabbis were descendants of Haman! The standard Aramaic translation
of the Torah that is printed in most Chumashim was written by a convert,
Onkelos.
Sources:
* Yalkut Shimoni Yitro 268
* Mishneh Torah, Laws of Forbidden Relationships, 13:1-4
* Tractate Sanhedrin 66b
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Yiddle Riddle
Last week we asked: Which weekly Torah portion don't we read this year?
Answer: Parshat Vayelech. In the year 5757, Parshat Vayelech was read
before Rosh Hashana (25 Elul 5757). The next reading of Parshat Vayelech is
in 5759, just after Rosh Hashana (6 Tishri 5759). In 5758 it is not read at
all.
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The Public Domain
Comments, quibbles, and reactions
concerning previous "Ask-the-Rabbi" features
Re: Sherlox (Parsah Q&A, Parshas Balak):
I enjoyed (as always) the Sherlox Holmes section, and would like to tell
you about an interesting alternative explanation (that I heard) for Rashi's
comment that Bilaam's statement was self-indicting: Balak offered Bilaam
honor (which is taken literally, instead of meaning money), and Bilaam
replied that "Even if you offered me all your silver and gold...." The word
"even" implies that Bilaam considered the money an even greater reward than
honor. Thus Bilaam's statement could read: "Not only will I refuse to do
this for honor, but even if you offered me all the gold, I still would not
transgress Hashem's word..." placing money above honor, and giving a little
insight into Bilaam's perspective. Thank you for the fascinating DTs! Keep
them coming!
A. Ziskind, Cape Town SA
**********
Re: Yiddle Riddle (Ask #196):
You asked a riddle regarding a person performing two identical acts, the
first time it's a mitzvah and the second time it's a sin: Here's another
answer: It's a mitzvah to circumcise an eight-day old baby, even on
Shabbat. However, if a baby is nine days old or older, it is forbidden to
circumcise him on Shabbat. So, if on Shabbat a person circumcises an eight-
day old baby and then a nine-day old baby, the first one would be a mitzvah
and the second one would be a sin. Looking forward to more riddles.
Ravi Shahar
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